Montana Mournings
by Erin Hanlon
Summary: When tradgedy strikes Lindsays family again, will Danny uncover the truth of why she wont date him? Will all of her walls be broken down by death? [DL] country songs later on, around the fourth or fifth chapters
1. Shock

**A/N Ok, I only own the plot, Lindsay's family, and whatever I feel like making them say**

**I don't own the characters, or Montana (but that would be pretty cool)**

**M&M&M&M&M&M&M&M&M&M&M&M&M&M&M&M&M&M&M&M&M&M**

Danny Messer walked through the lab, cradling his steaming coffee. As he walked into the layout room, he noticed Lindsay "Montano" Monroe, hanging he head.

"G' morning Montana!" he said

"Ok, thank you Carter. How's Lily?" she asked her phone

"Oh…sorry." Danny said, whispering.

"Well, tell her I miss her. Yea, I'll try. I have a case to finish with Danny…do you really think that asking me if I'm sleeping with him is an appropriate question" she paused to listen, and look up at Danny who just spilled his coffee on himself "Well no, I'm not. Ok, bye Carter."

She closed her phone. Before Danny had a chance to bring his cup to his lips, she broke down and started sobbing. He put his cup down and rushed to her side.

"Whoa, Lindsay, what's wrong? What happened?" he asked.

"M-my mother j-just d-died of c-cancer." She said between sobs.

"oh, Lindsay, I'm so, so sorry." He said pulling her into his chest. And they stayed that way for a while. Danny Messer holding, and stroking, his sobbing Montana.

"Hey Danny, I've got your re-" Sheldon walked in, looked up at the scene, and walked back out.

"Hey, hey Lindsay…c'mon, calm down. Look at me…" Danny said softly. She looked up at him and his heart melted when he looked into her tear streaked eyes.

"I need some time off Danny.." she started, then trailed off.

"Alright, let me talk to Mac, then I'll take you home…ok?" he asked her. When she nodded, he pulled her towards the locker room, ignoring all the stares, opened her locker and pulled out her jacket and purse. Then did the same for himself (minus the purse, he has a messenger bag). He pulled her to Mac's office and told her to wait outside. He went in.

"Mac, Lindsay needs some time off." Danny said

"Ok?" Mac, Flack, and Stella all looked up from the case file they were reading.

"Her mother just passed, from cancer I think she said." His Staten Island accent coming through thicker from the emotion her was feeling for her.

"Both of you have two weeks then." Mac said, jotting something down on a sticky note.

"Both?" Danny asked.

"Danny, she needs someone right now. Some who feels for her, and really cares about her. Someone she can easily talk to. That person is you." Stella said softly.

"Thank you, Mac, Stella." He nodded at all three of them.

He turned around, and walked out. He looked around for a second before realizing that Lindsay was sitting on the floor with her head in her hands. He took her hands a pulled her up. She looked into his eyes, and gave a weak smile. He smiled back, a genuine smile, not the cocky-sexy-egotistical grin that he usually had, but a really smile, and led her to his car.


	2. Mama

Once in the car, Danny buckled her in. he crossed to the other side and got in. he started his Toyota 4 x 4, and drove in the direction of her apartment. He prayed that she wouldn't realize that he knew the way. In secret, he had been driving past her house at least once a week, and standing outside just to make sure she was ok.

They pulled up and he noticed that there were two women standing outside, waiting it looked like. One was tall and had extremely long wavy blonde hair. The other was shorter with very short pin-straight brown hair. As soon as Lindsay noticed them, she jumped out of the car and ran into the blondes arms. Danny got out, but lingered behind. The brunette approached him.

"Hi, Danny right? I'm Lenore, Lindsay's sister." She held out her hand.

"Hi. Is the other your sister as well?" Danny shook her hand and asked.

"Yes, that's Lily." She looked over at her sisters and smiled.

"All "L" s, huh?" he said

"Our father liked "L" and our mother liked "C". That's how we have Christopher, Cody, and Carter." She said.

"Listen, I'm sorry for your loss." Danny said empathetically.

"Thank you. Hey, would you be willing to come to Bozeman with us. Linds here was closest to our mother, I think she needs someone outside of the family, who didn't know her." Lily said. Lindsay didn't seem to notice.

"Sure, I'll just run home and grab a few things." Danny said.

"Thank you so much Danny." Lindsay spoke for the first time since they were left the lab.

Danny nodded. He walked back and got into his car, and drove home. The whole way he thought about Lindsay and her family. They should prove to be interesting. Lindsay, Lily, Lenore, Christopher, Cody, and Carter Monroe. Yes, interesting indeed.


	3. Montana Mama Blues

Danny got out of the car, and stared at the ranch before him. There was a sign on the gutter that read "Monroe Bed & Breakfast". A man came out to meet them, and Lindsay walked over and into his arms. Her sisters went over to stand by Danny.

"Our parents ran the ranch together." Lenore said.

"Daddy, Christopher, and usually Lindsay took care of the horses, and other animals." Lily continued.

"And Mama and the rest took care of the Bed & Breakfast." Lenore finished.

"It's beautiful out here." Danny said, still staring.

"That's why I'm never leavin'. Hi, I'm Christopher." He held out his hand.

"Danny Messer." He shook the other mans hand. Christopher nodded and gave knowing smile.

"Look, I'm real sorry if my sister hurt you, but she's been through a lot.. I'm probably just adding to your confusion, but she'll come to you in her own time." He said, "I wish I could tell you, but it's not my story to tell."

"Thank you, I'll still be here when she's ready." Danny said, looking back at her while she went inside with Lenore.

"That's something he never did..." Chris murmured.

"Excuse me?" Danny looked back at him.

"You'll understand soon enough." He walked into the house.

"C'mon, I'll take you to your room." Lily picked up the last of Lindsay's bags, and walked in with everyone else. Danny followed suit. He couldn't help but stare at everything; it was all new to him. They went up a stair well, and he stopped suddenly.

"Is this Lindsay?" he asked. He was pointing to a picture of a young girl. She was wearing a fitted black camisole, a muted red 'Boho Country Girl' skirt that reached the ground, black cowboy boots, and a straw woven black cowboy hat. She leaned against a fallen tree, with a piece of wheat sticking out of her smiling mouth.

"Yea, that's Lindsay alright. Boy, she was a Beauty. Oh, you don't know how much I miss those days. She was such a beautiful spirit." Lily said thoughtfully.

"What happened?" Danny asked.

"I'm sorry, I wish I could tell, but I can't." she said looking at him sadly.

"No, but I can." A familiar voice said from behind. They turned to see Lindsay, with bloodshot eyes, and clutching a piece of paper in her fist. "Besides, its what Mama wanted. Says it right here; "Tell this Danny feller your story, he deserves it, or I will be one blue Montana Mama'"


	4. Characters defintaly read

Montana mourning characters

Linsay's Family:

Lindsay

Lenore (tough type chick)

Lily (orchestra teacher at local high school)(married to Robert Donovan)

Carter (Sweet, independent, close to Lindsay. Likes Danny)

Christopher (total old school cowboy)

Cody (quiet, Christopher's twin, doesn't think too much)

Alison (cousin, good cop, transfers to New York, musician)

Angela (Alison's twin, country singer song writer)

Danny's family

Danny

Louie (still in a coma)

Anna (sister, fashion designer, never really around)

Ma + Pa (parents, very concerned with the affairs of their children)

Vinny (Other brother, daughter, wife)

Sicilia (Vinny's wife)

Montana Crew (town's people/ friends)

Dan McDermott (musician/ Lindsay's back up band)

Ronny Huston (Lindsay's back up band)

Marc Ryley (Lindsay's back up band)

Luke Fergatin (Lindsay's back up band)

Eddie Cahill yes as in the actor-I ran out of names (Town's ladies man)

Brian Renolds (Eddie's competitor)

Jason Wales (Lindsay's ex, mentioned in fourth chapter, seen in sixth)


	5. Her Story, His Reaction, Their Love

**A/N- the song is Ghost in this House by Alison Krauss. I don't own her, but I wanted to use her music as Lindsay's own writing. Im sorry if I offend her in anyway.**

Danny followed Lindsay to his room. She took his bag and put it on the bed then grabbed his hand and led him way down the hall. They walked through a door to her room, and Danny felt like he had walked into a Wheatfield. The walls were light amber, with a deeper tan thinly painted in curved lines, to represent the wheat itself. The furniture was a beautiful contrast of deep of mahogany.

"This is beautiful." He said, looking around, taking everything in.

"Thank you. My Mama's right, you do deserve to know my story, you actually care about me." At this point she was pacing the room.

He was looking at the arrangement of pictures on her dresser, one of which was the one from the hallway. There were two next to it that were of the same fashion. One was of Lily, except she was lying on the tree upside down, supporting herself on her hands, and she was laughing. She was wearing a pair of black jeans, a white collared dress shirt, and a black corduroy vest. She wore a pair of black healed leather boots, and her hair was making, what looked like, a pool of gold on the grass below her. The next was of Lenore. Hers was completely different; she was actually jumping off of the tree. She wore a red chiffon long sleeved shirt, and a denim mini skirt. And she wasn't wearing her shoes, she had one black stiletto in each hand, and her hair made a deep brown fan around her head, and she was smiling what looked like the biggest smile he had ever seen.

"I don't even know where to start." Lindsay said from behind him.

"The beginning?" Danny said with out thinking. He turned to smile at her, but his smile fell when he saw her face. She wasn't laughing, or smiling, or even smirking, but trying to hold back the pools of tears in her eyes, threatening to fall. "I-I'm sorry, bad timing. Hey, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to, ill always be here if you need me." He said

"No, I _want_ to tell you, I just need some time. I cant help but think about how your gonna treat me differently." She shed two lonesome tears. Danny walked over to her and whipped them away. "I need to sit" she said.

"ok" He said.

"Im ready. Uh, you see, me and my sisters are the most wanted women here in Bozeman. Literally. But anyway, I told myself I was going to wait until I met someone new, different from the others. Someone special. Then I met Jason Wales. I felt like I was in love. So of course when he asked me out to dinner, then dancing at the fair, I took him up on it. It was the biggest mistake I ever made." She had stopped trying to keep back the tears at this point. She fiddled with her fingers, until Danny laced his between hers. He stared intently at her face.

"Why?" he asked softly.

"Well, that night, we did what every couple would do. We had sex, and then I knew it. Or at least I thought I did. But anyways, we had sex. And I never went anywhere without him for about three months into the relationship. Then one night, I found out he was drinking, heavily. I got really mad at him, because I know what that much drinking can do to you. I made the mistake of doing it when he was drunk." She sniffled and whipped away the dried tear tracks on her face.

"he, uh, he, well he got really mad at me for yelling at him, that he hit me. Well first he slapped me, and I punched him." She smiled at this, "everybody in town knows that I can throw the best punches, better than all the men here. But, yea, after that he just started hitting me harder and harder, until he passed out from the alcohol. I got up and cleaned myself off. And the next morning I told him what had happened, and he didn't believe me. So he said if I ever told anybody, he would kill me 'like he did the others'" she finger quoted him. At this Danny's eyes were filling up.

"uh, so this went on, until I refused to have sex with him, then he f-forced me to." She started to cry again. "he never knew when to stop. So this went on for about a year and a half…"

"A year and a half? Lindsay what is wrong with you, you deserve so much better, not that." Danny looked at her with disbelief. Partially because he knows that she is smarter than that, and partially because the smart, sassy, independent Montana that he loved, yes _loved_, was slowly crumbling into a small fragile broken spirit.

"Danny, please just let me finish. This is why I never told you at first, I knew you would freak out." She said looking in to his eyes.

"your right, im sorry." He said, his expression softening.

"'s ok. But yes, it went on for that long. I got real good at hiding it from everybody, well, everybody except Alison. Shes my cousin, shes a detective, and a damn good one. She noticed, and I told her. She wanted to confirm everything so she didn't do anything about it at first. Then she confronted him, and that's when it went real bad…"

"_You told HER!" Jason screamed._

"_No! I Swear I DIDNT! Im Sorry! She a good Cop She can Tell!" Lindsay cried. _

"_LIAR!" he hit her. Over and over again, until her face was covered in blood._

"_JASON STOP!" she cried over and over again._

"_NO!" so he kept going, until she caught him off guard and hit right in the nose. She smiled when she heard the cracking of the bones in his nose. He ran into the bathroom. She reached her phone and dialed Alison's number. _

"_Detective Monroe." She answered._

"_Alison, help me!" Lindsay whispered urgently. _

"_Lindsay?" Lindsay looked up when the phone was smacked from her hands._

"_Jason, please, please don't do this. Just move on, please." Lindsay was begging before the man who had cause her so much pain._

"_Lindsay? Lindsay? LINDSAY? IM ON MY WAY! HOLD ON!" Lindsay could hear her cousin as she was thrown around her apartment…_

"The last thing I remembered was seeing Alison barge through the door, and shoot him in the arm." Lindsay said. She held her composure for a second or two longer, than she broke down, right into Danny's open arms.

"It's ok, he's gone. I'm here now. I'm gonna keep you sake. I'm right here." He whispered comforting nothings into her hair, while he slowly rocked back and forth with her, until she calmed down.

"I'm sorry." She whipped her tears, and smiled when he help her.

"No, it's fine. I'm just glad you trust me enough to tell me your story." He said. He went to get up, but she pulled him back down.

"It's not over yet." She said, her brow furrowing.

"It's not?" he asked, his voice filling with emotion.

"No, I was in a coma for a month after that. I don't remember much of it though. What I do remember is watching the conversation my mama and family had with the doctors when they made the decision to turn me off. I woke up a day later. I just couldn't go out that way. Uh, I was so scared of being in this town because of everything that happened, that I had to, I mean I HAD to take Mac up on the offer. That and my psychologist said I needed to get away from Bozeman. So I did. Then I met you." She looked up at him, and smiled. She pulled him with her as she lay down on her bed.

"you made me feel the same way Jason did when we first met. Which is why I think at some point we did love each other, but you made me feel different still. You made me feel important, like you always wanted me there. And it lasted too. Not like Jason, he stopped around three months later. But when ever someone would say, 'oh you two should date' or something like that, I would freak out. My mind would flash me images or that night, and I would chicken out. I never meant to stand you up, but when I saw you sitting there, I could make myself walk any closer. I turned around and I didn't stop running till I hit my bed and buried my face in it." She was looking at him square in the eyes now. "I'm sorry."

"No, now I understand. And it's perfectly reasonable." Danny said.

"There's something I want to show you." She said. She walked over to her stereo and put a CD into it. Danny sat up and watched her.

_I don't pick up the mail  
I don't pick up the phone  
I don't answer the door  
I'd just as soon be alone  
I don't keep this place up  
I just keep the lights down  
I don't live in these rooms  
I just rattle around_

I'm just a ghost in this house  
I'm just a shadow upon these walls  
As quietly as a mouse I haunt these halls  
I'm just a whisper of smoke  
I'm all that's left of two hearts on fire  
That once burned out of control  
You took my body and soul  
I'm just a ghost in this house  


She started to sing with the voice, and Danny was shocked to realize that the voices were identical. She smiled at his face.

_  
I don't care if it rains  
I don't care if it's clear  
I don't mind staying in  
There's another ghost here  
He sits down in your chair  
And he shines with your light  
And he lays down his head  
On your pillow at night_

I'm just a ghost in this house  
I'm just a shadow upon these walls  
I'm living proof of the damage  
Heartbreak does  
I'm just a whisper of smoke  
I'm all that's left of two hearts on fire  
That once burned out of control  
And took my body and soul  
I'm just a ghost in this house  
Oh, I'm just a ghost in this house  


"That is my favorite song. Out of all the ones I wrote and performed my self at least." She said, sitting down next to Danny.

"That was beautiful. You wrote that?" he looked at her.

"Yea. Do you know what its about?" she asked him

"Well I can tell that its about a girl whos had her heart broken, the man moved on, but she's still in love with him. She found someone else, but its just not him. This isn't about you is it?" he asked.

"No, it's about a friend. I just wanted to see if you understood it, not many people do. And to answer the question on your face, yes just a friend, well more like my cousin Angela." She said.

"Ok."

"Good Lord its 11:30. I didn't think it would take that long." She said gapping at her clock.

"Well we did get here at around 7:30." Danny said, pulling to lie down. "Sleep Lindsay, you need it." He took off his glasses, and placed them on her nightstand. She curled into his side and closed her eyes. Before she knew it, sleep consumed them both.

**A/N- Please Please Please be nice. You know me I never ask for reviews, but I need to know about this one. I was a little nervous about this, I wasn't sure if I could handle something this deep. O and while your at it, go give 'Greg, Corey, and a Long Time Ago' some lovin'**

**Thanks**

**Erin.**


	6. Team Love

Danny awoke to the smell of fresh brewed coffee and bacon. It took him a minute to become fully aware of where he was, and what the weight on his chest was. Then he remembered yesterday. He sat up, careful not to wake her, and left the room. He closed the door and walked down the stairs. He heard a strangely familiar voice floating over the coffee pot and frying pans, Mac's voice. Danny quickened his pace, running down the stairs in relief of someone familiar. He meant to turn into the doorway, but due to the freshly waxed floors, his socks, and his speed…he missed. Instead he slid past the door slamming into the wall. The force of his body contacting with the wall caused him to ricochet off the wall and fall flat on his face. A soft "ow" was all he could manage as he got up. He walked into the kitchen, turning beet red when he found the whole team smirking at him.

"Sorry…ow" he said as he sat down, "what the hell are ya all doin' here"

"We came for the funeral Danny." Stella said, hopelessly trying to hide her giggles with her hand.

"Right. Ok, somethin' smells really good, but I ain't the bacon." Danny said, as Lenore set down a cup of coffee in front of him. His accent was thicker due to sleep.

"That would have to be Lindsay's breakfast. Hi, I'm Cody, nice to finally put a face to the name." A man said smiling. He was tall, with light brown hair, almost blonde, and a friendly mid-western smile. He had Lilly's blue eyes, just as Christopher had Lenore's hazel. He was guessing that whoever Carter was had Lindsay's brown eyes.

"Hi." Danny raised his mug.

"Is she having something different?" Sid asked.

"She's having what Mama used to make for her whenever she was feelin' down. Grilled Swiss cheese on top of whole wheat bread." Cody smiled.

"My favorite." Everybody turned to see Lindsay in the doorway. "hi guys, I wasn't expecting to see you."

"Your one of us Linds, of course we were gonna come. I mean, you came out for drinks with us when we learned of Aiden's death." Sheldon piped up. "we're family. Its called team love" he smiled, as did the others.

"Thank you." She said, to both Sheldon and her brother, for he had just set her food down. Then appeared a little girl in the doorway, she looked to be only four at the most.

"Aunt Lindsay, I miss Grammy." She said, she ran over to Lindsay and hopped into her lap.

"Me too baby, me too." She said. She pulled back the girls long shiny brown hair into the ponytail that was resting in the girls hand.

"Hey Katie, why don't you go get your dress on, then maybe Aunt Lindsay will make you all pretty." Lily suggested.

"Ok Aunt Lily." The little girl ran out of the room, and you could hear her tiny footsteps as she ran up the stairs.

"I'm gonna go get ready too." Lindsay said, walking over and placing her dish in the sink.

"That sounds like a good idea…ow." Danny said. When everyone started laughing, Lindsay just looked at Danny, who gave a silly grin. He followed her back upstairs, and into her room.

"You ok Montana?" he closed the door behind them.

"I am now. Maybe…" she gave him a fake smile. He didn't believe it. Partially because he knew how to read her, her hand movements, her posture, her eyes, and partially because there was a lonesome tear rolling down her cheek.

He walked over to her (limping) and used the pad of his thumb to brush it away. He tucked her hair behind her ears and cupped the left side of her face, placing his left hand on her waist. He asked her a silent question, and she answered back. He never broke the eye contact with her and he slowly covered her lips with his. He pulled back from the feather-light-almost-not-there kiss, and looked at her. She put one hand on his chest and slid the other behind his neck, pulling him back down. This time she kissed him. He was about to pull back, but she held him fast, deepening the kiss. And they stood there, kissing in the center of her bedroom, painted like wheat fields, for what felt like forever. Their whole world disappeared, well, until Lenore cleared her throat.

"Oh, uh, we were, uh…um, huh…" Lindsay jumped away from Danny.

"Oh, uh, uh, um, you were, uh, um, yea. Sure. You were kissing. Good. Here's your dress." And she left smiling. Danny pecked Lindsay on the cheek, and walked to the door. He turned back to her and winked, smiled then walked out, closing the door behind his back. Lindsay smiled, and let out a sigh as she walked over to a picture. It was one of her and her mom before Chris's wedding.

"Thank you Mama, you gave me the courage I needed. And once again…you were right. I do love him. I'm sorry you could meet him sooner, but I know you would have loved him to. If you're listening, or watching, watch over us. I don't wanna be hurt again. I don't think Danny's like that, but I've been wrong before. I really do love him." She smiled and kissed the picture, "I love you." She whispered. She placed the picture back down and got dressed.


	7. Mama's Bed

**A/N: ok another disclaimer for this chapter. I don't own Mindy Smith, who is a country singer, BONES (cause I'm using Zack Addy), or any Faith Hill, Mindy Smith, Allison Kruass, Billy Ray Cyrus, or Dolly Parton songs. I wish I did though. Oh, or Patty Loveless, I'm just using their names. Also, I modeled Lily after my own orchestra teacher, and whatever Lily does, most likely my Mrs. Donovan has done. **

Danny and the team walked silently through the graveyard. It amazed him how the whole town showed up to honor Mrs. Monroe. You couldn't even get the first floor of an apartment building to file out if Mrs. Messer died. But that's what happens in a small town.

Ahead of him was the Monroe family. They all wore the same looks of depression, grief. All except Lindsay, she almost looked happy, content maybe. He wondered why. They reached the casket and a teenaged boy walked up to Lily with an older man. The man gave her a kiss on the lips, and put a comforting arm around her shoulders. The boy gave her a lily (the flower of grief) and he faintly heard…

"The whole orchestra showed up, we all wanted to be here for you Mrs. Donovan." He said.

"Thank you Jason." She looked at the group of teens standing at the edge of the seats. Danny guessed they were her students. She had mentioned that she was an orchestra teacher at the local high school, and he assumed that the man was her husband, the band teacher at the same local high school. Fancy that.

The ceremony passed with many tears and sobs, though it went fairly quick. Danny paid more attention to Lindsay than he did the minister. She shed few tears, until Carter stood to speak…

"Uh, Mama wrote a letter, well actually she wrote many, but this one is to the town. About today. Uh, it mentions a lot of things, what she wants people to do for her." He cleared his throat and began to read…

"_Dear Bozeman,_

_I'm gonna miss ya'll. So much. Ill be watchin' every one of ya' up here in heaven. But I want a few things done today, n my behalf. A few people and event I want to happen. Firstly…Zachary Addy would you just kiss Mindy Smith and get on with it already…seesh!" _

He paused to laugh with the others as they complied from the back row of seats…

"_But that's beside the point. What I want is this, my favorite songs, and stories told and sang. For those of you who may not know what they are…well here it is…_

_Lenore I want you to sing these, Breathe and I Think I Will,_

_Lily, I want to hear that orchestra of yours play! God they are good! Any song, it doesn't matter._

_Im sorry Cody, but I just have to ask, I want to be sent off with a laugh, I want you to sing Billy Ray Cyrus' "Achey Breaky Heart"."_

This earned a roar of laughter from the crowd as Cody turned red.

" _Allison, I want you to play with the band on your violin again, I still don't understand why you ever left. You were so good. _

_I want to hear 'Jolene', with Zack and Lindsay. Oh and 'Come to Jesus', and 'Train Song', and I know that song is about Zack._

_Patty, you need to sing 'I Try to Think About Elvis' god that song makes me laugh, and 'Here I am', only you and I know the true meaning._

_And my Lindsay, darling. I want to hear your voice up here in the Heavens singing my favorite songs…" _

Lindsay's eyes filled with tears, and they threatened to fall.

"'_Ghost in this House', 'Every time We Say Goodbye', 'Stay', 'The Lucky One' and Eddie…Zack…if you two call out I will beat your heads in…well when you get up here at least, and I want to hear 'Let me Touch You For a While'. _

_Thank you everybody. Everybody knows my favorite stories, like why our horses Whiskey, Vodka, Tequila, and Shot got their names. When Lenore broke her ankle. Why I don't want Eddie and Zack calling out in the middle of a concert, you know, the classics of Bozeman. _

_Yours Dearly Truly,_

_Mrs. Anita Melissa Monroe."_

Danny looked at Lindsay to find tears rolling down her cheeks. Everyone stood to leave, and head to the town square for performances. Danny walked over and whipped away her tears. She looked up at him and let him lead her into town.

When they arrived, there were already performances happening. Mindy was singing. Danny paused to listen to the words of 'Come to Jesus'

_Worry not my daughters_

_Worry not my sons_

_Child when life don't seem worth livin'_

_Come to Jesus_

_And let 'em hold you_

_In his arms_

They walked through the town square, hand in hand, and Lindsay just smiled at him whenever someone would point to them and smile. As the party, I guess you could say, went on and they got closer and closer. Until Lindsay was singing that is. (**A/N: I'm not re-typing 'Ghost in this House', just refer yourself a chapter back if you want the words.**).

When she finished her first song she moved on to the second.

_Look at the sky baby  
What do you see?  
Looks like the tears that I cry  
Fallin' down like rain on the ground  
Every time you say goodbye_

Take a look around now  
Why don't you feel  
The way that cold wind stings and bites  
And your words just are like arrows through my heart  
Every time you say goodbye

Danny fell in love with her voice; it was so light and sensual that he had to ignore his feelings of desire as she sang each word.

The songs moved on, and then Lily and her orchestra got up and played some light music. There were a few points where she had stopped them to work on the music, because she felt it was just like any other rehearsal, or so her husband Robby said.

Before they knew it, it was getting late and they were going through all types of stories. Danny and the team learned that four horses had broken a few caskets of alcohol so each horse was named after what it got drunk. There is Whiskey Monroe, Vodka Addy, and Tequila and Shot Cahill, they both drank the Tequila.

They learned that Lenore is a dancer, a very good one, and wants to be a professional, for she is still in school. They also learned that she broke her foot trying to tango and her partner dropped her during a lift.

And they learned that during one concert, Zack and Eddie had gotten drunk and where being really loud. During Lindsay's song 'The Lucky One' Eddie had called out "I love you Lindsay', and from the other side of the square Zack had called, "I love you more" (**A/N: this really happened on an Allison Krauss CD**).

Danny met all of her friends. Like Patty and Bob Loveless. Patty was apparently the towns crazy-crazy, or so they called her. She was also a country singer, who just signed a record deal. He was introduced to Zack Addy, boy genius as everyone called him. He worked with a friend of Sid's, Dr. Temperance Brennan; in fact he was her personal assistant. He met Mindy, and learned that she was just a shy, sweet little thing. She clung to Zack's side all night, for the possible fear that he would leave her.

When it was late in the evening, people decided to wrap up the party. Zack and his team went back to the Addy ranch, with Mindy by his side. Eddie went home to his apartment with his girlfriend Melissa French, and Patty and her husband went home to their house. The team had to go back home, because they only had two days that the night shift could cover for them.

They all said their goodbyes, and Danny and the Monroe's headed back to the Bed and Breakfast. The three girls headed upstairs while Danny and the men stayed downstairs to talk.

"So I hear from Lenore that you kissed my sister?" Chris said.

"Uh, um…well…ok, yea I did. Don't hurt me, man." Danny said, raising his arms in surrender.

"What, and risk getting his ass beat by Lindsay…no way. But we're glad for you. We really just want to see her happy again. Although she did looked a little better today." Carter said.

"Thanks man. Does she really throw the best punch in town?" Danny asked.

"Yes." The men said in unison.

"No wonder." Danny mused.

"No wonder what?" Cody asked.

"Well, I kinda jumped off a building a while back to catch a suspect, and when I got back to the lab, she started hitting me. I thought it wouldn't hurt at all, but she really bruised my chest." He said, remembering the time.

"Well, I guess you know not to jump off buildings then." Chris laughed.

"Yea."

The men walked up stairs together, chatting, but they came to a stop when chris pointed into their moms bedroom. Lying on the bed was their father, with Lily, Lenore, and Lindsay laying haphazardly across him. Lindsay opened her eyes, and motioned for them to join. So they did. Danny picked her head up, and placed it back down on his torso, and removed his glasses. The other men lay down as well, as Chris' wife and two kids ran in. some how they managed to fit all 12 of them on a king sized bed. Soon they were all just smiling, and one by one, they drifted off into sleeo.


	8. The Cove

**A/N: ok guys, I'm glad everybody liked my last chapter. And if anybody doesn't like the fact that I'm using real people, than I think you probably shouldn't read it. Oh and I'd like to give props to a certain few readers: **

**To all my Zoo Baby readers- dddynamite, chili-peppers, melissouza, truebluepatfan12, prplerayne, Mrs. Fitzgerald, and xbexyxboox.**

**Ok, here goes…..**

Danny awoke Lindsay moved her head in her sleep. They were both still on her mothers bed, with only her father left. Danny thought about her family. Her father, Marty Monroe, was a good man. Her sisters were very nice, as well as her brothers. Her friends were good people, and they really cared about her.

He carefully lifted her, trying not to wake her, but waking her father in the process.

"You're a good man Danny. Take care of my baby." He whispered, and then drifted back off to sleep.

"Yes Danny, take care of me." Lindsay said, sleepily.

He hadn't noticed that she woke up. He smiled at her, as she wound her arms around his neck, and buried her face into his chest. He opened the door, and walked down to her room. He set her down on the bed, and crouched in front of her.

"Now are you ok?" he asked.

"No. but I will be in a minute." She pulled him down to lay down with her, and kissed him. Slowly at first, then more passionately. He pulled back for a moment, to study her face. She smiled and pulled him into her neck.

"Do you want to do something daring?" she asked.

"Um, define daring?" he said, his voice hitching.

"Change your clothes, wear jeans and a clean shirt, and meet me downstairs in 15 minutes." She said, toppling him off the bed, and laughing when he landed with a thud.

"Ok?" he said, staring at her in shock.

_Damn her. Jeeze. That was mean._

She got up and pulled him to his feet, pushing him out of her room. And with a quick peck on the lips, with just a hint of tongue, she closed the door in his face. But not without a wink and a smile.

"Oh God, she's taking you to the cove." Lily said.

"The what?" Danny asked, his brain still wasn't working yet.

"The cove. You'll see. Just go get dressed." Lily said, pushing him to his door.

He changed his clothes and met her downstairs. He stopped in the door, and took in her appearance. She was wearing a long black skirt, and a white tank top. She had on a pair of heeled boots, and her hair was pulled up in a neat curly ponytail.

"Hey there cowboy, ready?" she said.

"Uh, sure." He said.

She walked out the back door, and into the ranch. Danny followed. He saw two magnificent horses standing with Chris.

"Danny, meet my horses. Whiskey and Zee." She said, climbing up onto the bronze horse.

"You ride Zee." She motioned at the black horse.

"Ok? Why is he named Zee?" he asked climbing up. She was silently impressed; she thought he would've fallen.

"My niece rides Lindsay, I've taken her a few times." He said smiling.

"Oh. Well, when I found him, he was in a crate on the side of the road, and there was a white spot on his belly that was shaped like the Zorro 'Z'." she said.

"Oh, ok." He said.

"So this is the famous Whiskey from last night huh?" he asked. She nodded, and the horse nuzzled into her hand.

"Wow, he must really like you." He said.

"Yea, he doesn't let anybody else ride him. He goes buck wild when someone else tries to ride him. Just so you know, a horse always knows when something will happen to their owner." She said.

"Yea, what makes you say that?" he asked.

"You see what he's doing now? How he's nuzzling into my hand? He usually does that when something good will happen." She smiled sweetly at him. "so lets see what you can do cowboy."

Before he could blink she turned her horse and took off at a canter. She turned her head to see if he was still in shock, and was surprised when he was only about three feet behind her…and gaining.

She slowed down to a walk, and brushed the fly-aways out of her face.

"Impressive." She said.

"Like I said, my niece rides." He smiled at her. "So where are you taking me?"

"Just follow." She used her sweetest voice, the one she knew would make his heart melt.

With in ten minutes, they both dismounted in the deep woods.

"I'm lost." He said looking around.

"Here, tie Zee up here." She said, and watched as he complied.

She took his hands in her own and walked backwards through the woods, never breaking eye-contact. He watched her closely, studying her movements, how they were fluent and one led into the other.

"Close your eyes." She whispered into his ear. His breathe hitched when he realized that her body was flush with his from thigh up. But he still did as he was told.

She pulled him with her, and she parted the low hanging branches. She walked into the opening that overlooked her secret valley and stood behind him, placing her hands on his shoulders.

"Ok…now open them." She said.

"Wow." He said. He had never seen anything so beautiful. They were standing in a little cove, an area where the dense trees had parted. He walked over to the edge, and looked at the low hanging sun. There was a beautiful river valley below them, and everything seemed to shimmer and sparkle.

He looked back at her, then noticed some of the finer things fof the cove. There was a fire pit, it looked like it had been used for years upon years. Then there was a tree with all types of scratching and markings on it. He walked over to it, and tried to make out the gibberish stabbed upon the surface.

"I was wondering when you would notice that. Remember yesterday when Patty and Zack were talking about the oak tree, in the cove, with our memories in the surface, and you thought it was a metaphor." She said.

"Ok, so I was wrong. I didn't think she meant it in a literal sense." He said turning to her. He hadn't noticed her coming up behind him, so when he turned, he ended up landing them both on the ground. One of his hands was on her arm, the other on her hip, and she was straddling his lower body, with a look of shock on her face.

"Oh, uh, Danny I'm so sorry." She said. She was about to get up when he pulled her the rest of the way down. He smiled at her, taking in the sensation of having Lindsay Monroe flush against his entire body. She bit her lip and smiled at him.

"Would this be considered daring in your book?" she asked in a sickly sweet voice, twirling a lock of fly-away around her finger, the other hand playing with the hairs at the nape of his neck.

"Oh yea." He said, his voice husky, and breaking.

"Good." She whispered, her lips crashing into his.

Their kisses started sweet, and testing, for they hadn't really kissed before. He lazily ran the tip of his tongue across her lips, begging for entrance. She visibly sighed as she parted her lips, giving into his temptations. He was slowly driving himself insane at the sweet taste of her mouth, and the attention she was giving back. He was obtusely aware of the way her knee was sliding into a painful stillness between his legs. She felt him against her leg, and shuddered.

For a moment he struggled with himself and pulled back.

"Here?" he asked. He was silently stunned at how different she really was from the Lindsay that he knew, but it was a good different, a sexy different.

"It's the only privacy we'll have 'till we go back to New York, and honestly, I don't think either one of us will make it that long." She panted. She was slowly recovering from his drugging kisses.

And he took it from there. He thanked the God Almighty that he had remembered to put a condom in his wallet before leaving his apartment in New York. And she made that clear, while he loved her.


	9. The Luckiest Man Alive

A/N: OMG I CAN'T BELIEVE ITS BEEN TWO FRIGGEN YEARS SINCE I UPDATED THIS

**A/N: OMG I CAN'T BELIEVE ITS BEEN TWO FRIGGEN YEARS SINCE I UPDATED THIS!! IM SORRYYYYYYY!!**

**Lol, ok I had to get that out. Besides, Daddy Dearest has been bugging me to finish this, seeing as how its his favorite piece from me. SOOOOO…..here goes nothing. **

The journey back to the Monroe ranch was slow, they took their sweet time. They had a little over two days left at the ranch, and they were going to enjoy it, even if it was a morbid subject that brought them there together. They walked the horses back, their hands entwined and smiles on their faces, showing identical feelings of satisfaction and love. A few times Danny would bring Lindsey's hand up to kiss her fingertips, or he would wrap his arm around her waist or shoulders instead, but they never broke contact.

By the time they got back to the ranch, it was about sunset. Lily was cooking dinner, of course it smelled delicious, and they realized just how hungry they were. The horses were returned to where they needed to be, and before dinner they all joined in the living room to just talk and have a beer or two.

"So, enjoy the cove Danny?" Lenore asked.

"Of course, what's not to enjoy about it?" he responded, his eyes giving away the true meaning of his statement. Robby just laughed.

"So when do you guys have to go back?" Cody asked.

"Tomorrow night, they really need us back." Lindsey said.

"Ah I gotchyea." Cody said. "Well I hope Danny has enjoyed Bozeman, and hopes to come back sometime soon."

"Hopefully on a better note." Danny said, raising his beer and nodding to Chris when he laughed.

"Hopefully. Daddy can't go dying on us too now." Lindsey said, smiling at her father.

"I'm in perfect health baby." He said.

"Dinners ready guys. C'mon and eat." Lily said.

Somehow, they all managed to eat enough to make their pants three sizes too small, and make them all very very tired. Back in the living room, Danny decided it was time to crash when Lindsey fell asleep for the fourth time on him.

"Night guys." He said, picking Lindsey up in his arms, they all smiled.

"I'll get the door for you." Chris said. Danny nodded.

Danny carried her up the stairs and into her bedroom, putting her down on the bed. He pulled off her boots, pulling the covers down and effectively tucking her in.

"Danny, can I have a word please?" Chris asked from the doorway. He nodded, following him out. "I hope you can understand everything now. And as her older brother, I'm obligated to say this, but if you hurt her in anyway at all, I will find you and break your legs…among other things."

Danny smiled and nodded. "You have no idea how much Montana means to me, I wouldn't do anything, ANYTHING, to hurt her. Especially not after everything she's told me. I couldn't bring myself to do that." He said.

"Montana?" Chris asked.

"Oh yea, when she started on the team I would kind of just make fun of her sometimes, so I started calling her Montana, and its kind of a pet name now." Danny explained.

"Oh I got it. That's cute. Listen, I just don't ever want to see her lose her light again. After Jason…she was so messed up. There used to be this light behind her eyes, constantly fueling her desire to do anything and everything she set her mind to. But with Jason…it faded, until it was completely snuffed out. I haven't even seen the tiniest hope of a spark since then, and then you walk in. And its back, stronger than it ever was before…don't ever make her lose that, it might just be the last thing you do…" Chris said, he grasped Danny's shoulder as he walked past, and left him ruminating on that threat.

Danny sighed and nodded to the air, "I would never do anything like that. She means too goddamn much to me." He turned around, going back into her room and lying down with her, pulling her into his chest. His eyes started to close, and he breathed in, taking in the scent of her hair and body. It was a scent he wanted to memorize, and have around him every minute of the day.

M&M&M&M&M&M&M&M&M&M&M&M&M&M&M&M&M&M&M&M&M&M

After a few tearful goodbyes and warm hugs from a newly accepting family, Danny and Lindsey were seated in two uncomfortable plastic chairs. Their flight would be boarding in about ten minutes and it felt like it dragged on.

"Do you really miss it Linds?" Danny asked her, looking down at her as she lay across his legs, her head in his lap.

"Yes and no. Do I miss my family? Yes. Do I miss the ranch? A part of me yes. Do I miss the town specifically? No, not really. Only the people. Besides, if I hadn't have moved to New York…I would have never met you, and I'd still be afraid to let my heart out." She said.

Danny nodded.

"Did you miss New York while you were here?" she asked in response.

"Yes but no. I missed the life, the amount of people, the noise, the atmosphere…but at the same time, in Bozeman, I actually heard true silence. I got the small town feel. I met your family, and the real you. I'm glad we're going back, but I'm even happier I got the chance to come with you." He said. She smiled up at him.

"Flight 93 to JFK is now boarding."

"Alright babe, lets go. Time to go home." He said, standing and holding out his hand.

She smiled. She took his hand, lacing their fingers together and kissing his cheek. "Time to go home." She repeated, wrapping her other hand around his bicep and leaning her chin on his shoulder as they walked.

Walking onto that plane that day, Danny realized something. He realized, that no matter what happened to them in the course of their lives, whether they were together forever or not…nothing, absolutely nothing in this world could give him what he was given that week. Nothing. It gave him an understanding of the girl he was in love with, hell, it gave him the girl herself, and it gave him a once in a lifetime experience for him, cause he doubted that he'd ever go to a small town like that all that much after they took off. And he knew, he knew in his conscious, subconscious, both sides of his brain, in his soul, in every fiber of him…that he was the luckiest man in the world.


End file.
